Socially Distanced Smiles

Sunny days and warm weather call for a quick photo without our masks on. We made sure to stay away from others as we posed for a quick pic!

STEM Challenge: Hexbug Maze

Have you ever heard of a Hexbug? Hexbugs are tiny micro robotic creatures that use the physics of vibration to propel forward and explore their environment. This week the kids were challenged to build a Hexbug maze with craft sticks. This challenge was fun and exciting!

Click here to watch Hexbug videos

Math: The Unknown Partner Game

The children are working hard on "breaking apart" numbers. For example, 6 equals 5 and 1, 4 and 2, and 3 and 3." We call two numbers that add up to a number the partners of the number. To strengthen the children's understanding of these concepts, we played "The Unknown Partner Game." To play the game the kids were in pairs and each group started with 5 objects. One of the kids in the group closed their eyes while the other child took a partner away. The child with the closed eyes then had to tell the missing amount. Every few minutes the kids received more objects to make the game harder.

Journals: What Do I See?

Sometimes it takes a simple prompt to see the many things we take for granted. The students were instructed to look all around and really see their surroundings. They were asked to pick something in the room and draw a picture of it. Then they were asked to write about it. What does it look like? What is it used for? Who uses it?

Guess & Groove: "Magic E" and "K or C"

This week the kids loved participating in an interactive movement game that reinforced spelling, applying our spelling rules, and handwriting.

Embellished Portraits

PE

French: Counting to 10

Library

Art: Louise Nevelson

This week we finished our Louise Nevelson-inspired art projects.

Recess

Mystery Reader

Our mystery readers this week were Griffin's grandparents! Thank you for reading to us!

Spring is in the air!

This week the kiddos welcomed the sun and warmer weather. The K kids were inspired to create some spring art so we made gorgeous cardstock flowers using watercolor and salt. Easy, fun, and beautiful!

Fundations: The "c" and "k" spelling rule

This week the kids learned something special about when to use "k" or "c" at the beginning of the word. Both of these letters say /k/. The rule is: when the /k/ sound is followed by the letters a, o, or u, the letter "c" is used, and when the /k/ sound is followed by an e or i, the letter "k" is used. Ask your child if they can recite this rhyme: “k takes i and e, c takes the other 3.” It will be fun to see how the kids will apply this rule in their writing!

Fundations: Write the Room!

This activity encouraged the kids to walk around the room looking for picture cards taped to the walls, tables, cabinets, chairs, etc. When they found a card they had to determine the missing letters for each "magic e" word. After they wrote down the word they moved to another card and repeated the process until their sheet was complete!

Journals: What is something you really like about yourself?

DEAR: Drop Everything & Read!

PE: Infinite Volleyball, Outdoor Scavenger Hunt, & Island Scooter Dodgeball!

Art: Louise Nevelson - Collage and Assemblage

Louise Nevelson was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures.

Library:

French: Les Couleurs et Les Formes (Colors & Shapes)

Creative Movement:

Recess:

The kids (and teachers!) loved the beautiful weather at the beginning of the week!

Theme Week: Problem Solved!

This week students in Kindergarten through fourth-grade participated in Theme Week. They engaged in a variety of activities that helped to expand their concept of design thinking. They built, created, and invented with purpose and empathy.

To begin theme week the kids watched a video on design thinking. The video taught us about engineers and how they solve problems. We then talked about the design thinking process and dove into Step 1.

Step 1: Ask

As a class, we brainstormed problems that could be fixed by making something. At the end of our brainstorming session, each child chose a problem that was meaningful to them.

Step 2: Imagine

The children each brainstormed solutions for the problem they were going to fix. They came up with as many as they could and circled their best idea!

Step 3: Create

The children each drew a picture of what they were going to make. Then they created a list of materials they would need to build their invention.

After the children had their plan in place, it was time to build! The children each got a chance to go "shopping" at the "recycling center." This is where the excitement really picked up! It was fun watching the kids gather supplies and get to work!

The kids had a blast building their inventsions! Theme week sure was a success in the Kindergarten classroom! Click here to watch the 2021 Theme Week video!

What else happened this week?

Art: Think, Feel, Care

Mr. Matt encouraged the kids to consider the empathy piece of the design thinking process. He asked the class to think about who their designs were for and to consider how they might want to feel using their design.

French:

The kids participated in bingo and were also introduced to the name of seasons through a sorting activity.

PE:

Our class loves PE! The games and activities this week included many of our favorites: Messy Backyard, Dodgeball Tag, and soccer!

Mystery Reader:

Our mystery reader this week was Leon's mom. Thank you for reading to us!

Recess: